Pleasure and Business
by hoshiko2kokoro
Summary: Alfred follows Arthur to work one day. Off-shot of Rainbow Veins.   Written for usxuk's Sweethearts Week: Day 3


Alfred only had one wish, to wake up beside his beloved every morning and help them throughout the day. Part one was easily achieved as he lived with his boyfriend already. He had moved in with him back during fall, and life had seemed to settle in together nicely.

"One year," Alfred breathed. He watched Arthur sleep beside him. He was curled on his side, sleeping on Alfred's outstretched arm. During the day he always seemed so tense, but in bed, when sleeping or otherwise he was calm and relaxed. He was at his most beautiful.

It had been a year since the two men had gotten together. Most of the time they joked that they had been together for two years since they had endured more than a lifetime's worth of drama in the previous year. Their main hurdle had been Arthur's firm decision that Catholic men just do not date their best male friends. He lied to himself during this time, damaging both of their hearts in the process. Through-out this torment they remained strong. Arthur found it in himself that he could keep his faith and the immense love he had for Alfred.

It hadn't been perfect, but it had been real. He was with the man he'd longed for, and was loved in return. The only think he could really ask for was part two of his dream to come true; he wanted to be useful to Arthur.

Back in November, Arthur had opened his very own nursery, Rainbow Veins, on the outskirts of London. He seemed to love this work a lot more than his previous job which consisted of him sitting in a cubicle, wasting away his life. It was still Alfred's job, but he didn't complain. He even had gotten a promotion recently. And that helped them greatly in their financial situation, enough so that Alfred was able to take a surprise "sick day".

After a time, Arthur awoke, smiling and glowing in all his glory. Alfred sighed at his beauty, kissing his face all over.

"Hi," Alfred whispered.

"Good morning, love," Arthur replied. Gone was his tense voice, replaced by the color in his veins. He didn't have many reasons to frown these days. "Shouldn't you be getting up now?"

Alfred always left before Arthur for work. He never could stay in bed for long, limiting slow and lazy mornings to Saturday only as Sunday was when Arthur went to church.

Alfred shifted so he could snuggle up to Arthur, caressing his cheek. He took his hand and placed a quick kiss on his knuckles. "I'm yours all day, babe."

"What?" Arthur blinked.

"Yup! Surprise!" Alfred held his hands up in the air as he smiled. "I'm taking the day off so I can help you around the nursery! Isn't it awesome?"

Arthur smiled nervously, obviously not the reaction Alfred was looking for. While he knew Arthur wouldn't jump for joy at the news, he expected a better reaction than this kind of expression.

"You're not happy," Alfred said, deflating. He dropped his arms back to the bed.

"I-it's not that," Arthur said quickly. "I j-just have so much going on today. Orders to fill and…"

"Then while you do that, I can totally manage the store!" Alfred grasped Arthur's hands again, staring at him in what he knew looked pathetic and desperate, but damnit, he'd do anything to make his dream come true. He _would_ be useful to his beloved. "Please, babe! Lemme help you!"

"Well…"

Alfred punched a fist into the air. "All right!"

"But you have to do exactly as I say," Arthur started. "Working with plants is different than with a computer. If you don't take proper care of the plants you could damage or kill them. I need you to listen to my every word. Understand?"

"Got it, captain," Alfred declared with a wink. He kissed Arthur on the nose. The man finally smiled. "You'll attract more customers, that's for sure. Girls will swoon for your American accent and that smile of yours."

Alfred chuckled, wrapping his arms around Arthur to pull him closer. He nuzzled his nose against Arthur's, kissing it again. "I only want to make you swoon."

"Oh you," Arthur laughed. He pretended to push away, but his antics no longer held the same intentions from long ago. There was no more malice or desperation to be free of something he didn't want to understand. Now he would play this up for a few moments to make Alfred fight for him, but pull him close in the end for a winning kiss.

Alfred closed his eyes, pulling Arthur against his chest where he knew he'd heard how fast his heart beat even now for having Arthur in his arms.

* * *

><p>Rainbow Veins was in a small cottage-style building on the outskirts of London. Arthur and a friend from church had renovated the structure, but kept that Old World charm that England was so well known for. Most endearing of the building was the ivy that wound up and around it, all the way across the roof and steadily making headway along the unused chimney. Inside, flowers grew about in all corners, wild bushes in pots sitting proudly on display, and sunlight wafting in through the old windows. In the back was a small park-like atmosphere Arthur had painstakingly created as a sort of show room for clients wishing for a much more expansive project.<p>

Alfred had stopped by many times since its opening, sometimes on his break or when he got off early and picked Arthur up for a date. Being here today, though, felt much more exciting than before. He rubbed his hands together energetically. He was wearing his shaggiest jeans and a plaid shirt his brother, Matthew, had gotten him for Christmas years ago. "Okay, so what do you want me to do? I'll tackle _anything_!"

Arthur simply handed him a hose. He smirked at Alfred's confused face. "I need you to water those flowers over there. They are very sensitive, so be careful. A light mist will be good."

"Oh. Oh, sure, babe." Alfred took the hose and trotted over to the flowers. He wasn't going to lie, he was hoping to really get his hands dirty.

He wanted to go outside and maybe uproot a log with his bare hands, or sign important papers of a big gardening job in front of some important business, and then Arthur would be so pleased with his work, he'd love him forever. He grinned at the scenario in his head. Arthur attached to his arm with sparkles in his eyes.

"_Oh Alfred! I love you forever! You're my gardening hero!"_

Yes, Alfred thought with a low chuckle. Yes, that'd be just perfect.

"Alfred! What're you doing?" Arthur came over and shoved Alfred aside, snapping the man from his fantasies. "Oh God, these poor flowers! You nearly drowned them!"

"Well, they got an extra snack in there," Alfred said laughingly. "Ya know, so they can grow extra big and strong?"

Arthur glared at him, huffing in annoyance. "Alfred. I told you to be careful. Why didn't you…"

The phone rang just then, and Arthur turned off the hose to answer. He would reprimand Alfred later. "Good morning, Rainbow Veins. This is Arthur speaking, how may I help you? …Ah yes! Mrs. Robinson! Yes, hello! …I have your bouquet ready, yes. Ah, no. I can't have it to you by then, I'm afraid. Yes, you'll have to come down and pick it up. I'm terribly sorry."

Alfred's eyes lit up. He rushed over and pushed his face into Arthur's. "I'll take it to her!"

Arthur pushed Alfred away, his face pinking slightly. "What's that, Mrs. Robinson? Oh. Well, in that case… I do have someone here who _could_ deliver it to you. …No, there's no extra charge. Haha, not at all. He's quite adaptable. Yes, all right. It'll be there shortly. Thank you."

He hung up and stared at Alfred momentarily before moving over to a large glass freezer. He opened it and pulled out a short vase with a beautiful arrangement of red and white roses, pastel lilies, Queen Anne lace, and monte casino flowers. Alfred stared at it in awe.

"Artie… did you make that?" he asked quietly.

Arthur blushed and nodded. He placed in on the counter, grabbing a red ribbon from a spool nearby. He cut a length perfectly freestyle and then wrapped it around the vase, tying it into a bow. He then handed it to Alfred, and then moving to write down the address.

"Be careful," Arthur said tenderly. He kissed Alfred's cheek and smiled. "It shouldn't take you long. She's not terribly far, but she is an old woman. Her husband bought it for her."

"So then why did she call about it?" Alfred read the address and calculated it would take him fifteen minutes by car, give or take traffic.

"It is an old tradition of theirs. He gets her flowers every year and she knows about it, and then he surprises her with something at the end of the day," Arthur explained. He smiled lovingly at the flowers. "She said they used another florist until recently. They're really excited about me and have liked what I've given them so far."

Alfred flicked at one of the rose petals, his face becoming red as well. Just listening to Arthur talk in such a sweet way made him nervous. He pouted, thinking that he could never buy Arthur another bouquet ever again. Nothing compared to this."It's their anniversary, isn't it?"

Arthur nodded, sighing. "So sweet…"

He then tittered away and Alfred was left holding the most beautiful bouquet, and realized he had to give it away. To some old lady that lived too far away to come and get it herself.

Delivering to her created quite a lot of doubts in Alfred's head. He noticed girls giggling at him as he held the vase close, fearful that the petals could be damaged. Every which way he looked at it, it was quite obvious Arthur had paid this bouquet an immense amount of time and dedication. And yet he didn't know what today was. It saddened Alfred, to say the least.

Upon arriving at Mrs. Robinson's house, he delivered it with a smile so as not to make the woman feel concerned as bout the help Arthur had hired for the day. She smiled in return, grateful for his help. She even gave him some old British sweets, to which Alfred accepted happily.

The return back to the nursery was a little better, if only because the candy really cheered him up. But entering the nursery made his spirits fall again. Arthur was trimming bushes, paying no attention to the fact Alfred had even returned.

"H-hey babe," Alfred said, finally getting Arthur's attention. "I'm back."

"Oh, good." Arthur stood up and walked to the counter. "I have a few arrangements to work on. Would you please finish trimming the bushes? The first on there is about the volume I'd like them all to be. Thank you, love."

Alfred couldn't even get a word in before Arthur handed him the trimmers. And it was like that the rest of the day. Arthur would shove some demand on him, with barely a smile or a glance his way before he skirted off to do something else. Sure he was asking Alfred for his help and that was useful, but it just didn't seem he was doing anything really worthwhile.

Arthur was perfectly capable to work on his own.

Maybe coming wasn't such a good idea after all.

The day came to an end, and Alfred was actually really grateful he was going home. All he wanted to do was curl up for a nice hot bath and just watch a movie. Preferably alone. It wasn't often he wanted to spend time away from Arthur, but the man's poor attention to Alfred really rattled him.

"Ah, hold up," Arthur said as Alfred headed to the door. "I forgot something."

He moved back to the freezer and pulled out another bouquet. The vase was made of glass and was slightly larger than the bouquet from this morning. The flowers this time were red roses and hot pink roses intermingled with Calla lilies. Another stunning set that Arthur had worked so hard on. Alfred pouted more, pulling his jacket collar up closer to his ears.

"Gotta drop it off on the way home?" he asked glumly.

"Something like that," Arthur mused, turning off the lights. "Sleep well, lovelies."

Alfred snorted as Arthur locked the door. "You talk to the flowers?"

"It's good for plants to receive positive energy from their caregivers," Arthur explained casually. He unlocked the car and got in the driver's seat. He placed the flowers in the back carefully.

"Do you want me to hold them?" Alfred asked, glancing at them curiously. "They'll fall over otherwise."

"No need," Arthur replied. He started the car. "What say you we get Chinese food like old times?"

Alfred sighed, sliding down in his seat. "I suppose…"

There went his solitary night in the bath tub.

The Chinese food was still the same, and movie night would probably start like always. Arthur still hadn't taken the flowers to their respective owners. He placed them on the table with a smile, caressing a petal before moving to pull down some plates. Alfred sat at the table with a loud sigh. He stared at the bouquet in anger. Someone was going to be getting that beautiful set and admiring Arthur's hard work.

"Alfred?" Arthur asked. He sat down next to him. "My love, you've been awfully quiet all day. Is something the matter?"

For a minute, Alfred thought that he would reply with nasty sarcasm, but his will was too tired to do so at the moment. Instead he threw a glare at the flowers and slouched down in his seat much like he had in the car. "No…"

"I don't believe you. Look at me."

"No."

"Why? Have I upset you?"

Now Alfred looked at Arthur. He furrowed his brow and frowned. "Uh, yeah. How about you've ignored me all day?"

Arthur looked confused. "What? But…we worked together. Isn't that what you wanted?"

"Y-yeah…," Alfred grumbled. "But! I thought we'd do more together! Ya know, flirt while at work, kisses behind the counter, and that I would help you out! And you totally forgot it was our one year today!"

Arthur's face blushed, but he smiled. He placed a hand atop Alfred's. "My love, I did not forget…"

"You didn't?"

He shook his head. "No. And I'm sorry we couldn't do… all of those things you wanted, but you have to remember, I take my job seriously. What if a customer came in? I didn't want to offend them or anything. And besides, I told you ahead of time I was busy today."

"Oh…"

Arthur tapped Alfred on the nose. "And what's this nonsense of you not helping me out?"

Alfred ducked his head. Okay, now it was getting embarrassing. He had over reacted and now was getting his just desserts for his childish actions. It was no wonder Arthur was taking this all so lightheartedly.

"I just…wanna help you… You work so hard… I wanted to be of…use to you."

Arthur cupped Alfred's face in his hands, turning his face to look at him. Their eyes connected, and Alfred swore he could see stars in that brilliant green. He couldn't help but want to smile, his lips twitching.

"My love… You were of great use to me… I am so happy you came with me." He glanced at the flowers. "I made that while you were out, you know."

Alfred turned to look at the bouquet. "What…?" His fingers traced the vase. "I thought… It's so beautiful… You didn't…?"

"No," was all Arthur said before he kissed Alfred. His fingers curled into Alfred's hair as he squeezed his eyes closed. He gave it all to him, his heart and more. "I love you… Happy one year, my dearest heart…"

Alfred smiled, pulling Arthur into a hug. His grin radiated onto the flowers on the table. "Happy one year anniversary, Arthur…"

* * *

><p><em>Hoshiko2<em>'s cents: Last year, this prompt was what spurred Rainbow Veins. I wanted to revisit it and focus on their one year as a way to nod at the original prompt. It's amazing to think it was a year ago and that they've come so amazingly far- Arthur especially.

Those flower arrangements were ones I found on 1800flowers dot com. Amazing stuff there.


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